Customer Reviews

Tiger Bay

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This import is ten times better than the American release. The American release does not even have "He's on the phone," and you cannot listen to "Like a Motorway" without hearing it first. This album saved my life with it's sheer brilliance. I highly recommend listening to it while driving on a warm day with all the windows rolled down. Even if you are not driving through France or Spain, you might start to think you are. This music is filled with a strong sense of the need to keep moving. Enjoy.

this version has several songs missing on the u.s. version. also the u.s. one has 'i was born on christmas day' which i don't care for. what you'll find on this album: beauty, purity, positive escape. if you think of saint etienne as a "dance pop" band, check out the songs 'boy scouts of america' 'on the shore' 'grovely road' 'i buy american records' 'former lover' 'western wind' 'hate your drug'. excellent track sequence, much diversity, a good journey, never boring. if you like anything else this band has done, definitely get this! one of my fav albums

'tiger bay' was but a few months old the first time i heard saint etienne back during a two-year stint in spain. as a fan of depeche mode, omd, erasure and the like, i was blown away by saint etienne. for as much as i liked the synthpop genre, saint etienne had some all the rest lack: sophistication. it's what sets saint etienne apart from the synth pack (though by no means is saint etienne a synthpop band--not even close).

'tiger bay' was the second half of saint etienne's great one-two punch--'so tough' and 'tiger bay.' 'so tough' was a much more experimental album melding sophisticated pop songs with samples including everything from rush's 'spirit of radio,' to marc almost saying, 'non-stop erotic caberet.' 'tiger bay,' on the other hand was a much more direct record chocked full of winning singles and irresistable hooks. two of saint etienne's greatest singles fall from this album: 'like a motorway' (an utterly hypnotic song) and 'hug my soul' (as perfect a pop song you'll ever want to hear.

mixed in with the the dance numbers is the signature saint etienne sound of 'former lover' (a lilting acoustic guitar song), and 'marble lions.' it shows bob and pete's diversity as songwriters. they write ballads as well as they write dance numbers. their ballads are genuinely affecting, never contrived or phony.

that saint etienne is largely ignored in the u.s. is one of the great shames in the history of music. saint etienne has made a career or writing absolutely the best, most sophisticated (not synonymous with unlistenable) pop music ever conceived. they've long since had a smash hit (even in their homeland), but that's ok.--part of me likes having them to myself.

if you're new to saint etienne, 'tiger bay' and 'so tough' are the perfect places to start. and if you are new, i must warn you, once you take bit of saint etienne, you'll be back for more and more.

The American version has ten original songs, two remixes and "I Was Born On Christmas Day." The import version has fifteen original songs which show a wider range of musical creativity, although "I Was Born On Christmas Day" is missing. Both versions show the band focusing on their tunesmithing and tossing aside the soundscapes that (imho) mar much of "Foxbase Alpha" and "So Tough."

The Import/English release is the preferred version, but the American release will do well in your CD player. I own both (got back my American version!), so I know.

This is by far the best version of Tiger Bay. This is a remastered re-release by Sony in 1996 and contains 15 songs instead of the other versions' 12 tracks.

The sound is improved and I particularly like "I Buy American Records".

CD: Heavenly/Sony / 01-475962-11 (UK)

British re-release featuring Giuditta Del Vecchio (from the film Léolo) on the front cover and an amplified song order

No. Title Length

1. "Urban Clearway" 3:59

2. "He's on the Phone" 4:06

3. "Former Lover" 3:37

4. "I Buy American Records" 2:48

5. "Hug My Soul" 4:15

6. "Like a Motorway" 5:43

7. "Grovely Road" 3:38

8. "On the Shore" 4:06

9. "Pale Movie" 3:53

10. "Hate Your Drug" 3:45

11. "Marble Lions" 4:35

12. "Cool Kids Of Death" 5:46

13. "Western Wind" 1:32

14. "Tankerville" 3:52

15. "The Boy Scouts of America"

i have both the original u.s. edition as well as this new import edition of Tiger Bay and even though i thought that i was going to regret purchasing a re-release of a cd i already had, i am happy to say that this cd is worth purchasing if you are a fan of the saints. new tracks are: 'he's on the phone', 'i buy american records', 'grovely road', 'hate your drug', 'western wild', 'tankerville', of which 'he's on the phone' is the best followed by 'i buy american records'. the remaining four 'new' songs aren't really songs that you'd listen to a cd for. unfortunately, they did take away 'i was born on christmas day' (one of my fav.), as well as a bonus edit of 'hug my soul' and 'like a motorway'. this is a great cd to own if you don't have the u.s. release, however, i like the flow of the u.s. relase more than this version, even though it doesn't have 'he's on the phone'. maybe this comes from having listened to it so many times. if you're a true fan of the saints though, you're probably going to end up owning both versions anyway; and who could blame you seeing as how you can probably get both for under 10 bucks a piece.

Both the American and this alternate import version of "Tiger Bay" are excellent CDs, although the contents are vastly different. The bargain price of the import allows one to get both, which is my recommendation.

Ovo je treci po redu album za Saint Etienne, i treci pop klasik koji nam je bend pruzio. Album otvara perfektan instrumental Urban Clearway, da bih se na to odmah nadovezala vesela i melodicna He's On The Phone, koja sa Hug My Soul i Like A Motorway, jedina poziva na igru. Ostatak materijala je za sanjarenje i vecno kuliranje, kao recimo Pale Movie, I Buy American Records i Western Wind, ili pop-country koji nam Sarah i momci pruzaju u Former Lover.

Prvi put kada cujete ovaj album, odmah cete shvatiti da vise ne mozete bez njega.

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